I wanted to depict a desolate, hopeless situation.  I can think of nothing more desolate than a Russian winter and nothing more hopeless than the driver dying while attempting to escape the tank.  The battle has moved on, the the freeze moved in, locking the tank and driver frozen in time until the thaw.

The iced over pond/lake was done using the Paraffin Ice method.    

Hope you enjoy the photos. All comments/questions welcome.